I loved the light on the top of these stairs in Henry Ford’s cottage (The Mangoes). And then below, most of you would know that I fell in love with the idea of Mina Edison writing long letters to friends and family at this desk in the sitting room of her Seminole Lodge. There were two homes included in Edison’s lodge. This is the house that many of their guests stayed in while visiting Ft. Myers. President Harding was often a visitor and stayed in this home.

Another thing that really struck me was how simply these people lived by today’s standards. Yes, all that they had was shipped to Ft. Myers from around the world but I can’t imagine any of America’s millionaires living this type of life style today. The pool was small and elevated. The tearoom floor below was tiny and very simple and the moonlight garden (in an earlier post) is the size of a postage stamp.

We really have so much more today, but it seems that we want even more! When we don’t get it, we end up feeling discontent and disadvantaged. Wonder what these men and their wives would do with all the advantages we have today? I’m not too sure that we are better off for all that we have gained. I do want to add a note here: these men were “self-made” men. They did not necessarily believe in God or that we have souls. At least that is what I have discovered about Edison. For him, when life ended, that was it, which is sad. One thing we can say, however, is that while he was alive he certainly knew how to enjoy the company of his friends.

Thomas Edison’s library and living area had some of the first electric lights. These are original to the house. I guess he just invented electricity and then had it installed in his home!

I have debated about including this story about Edison and Ford for a couple of weeks. It continues to make me laugh. So, I thought you would enjoy it. It’s from the archives of the Detroit News: “[Once while] en route to a new campsite on a rainy day, the Lincoln touring car carrying Harding, Ford, Edison, Firestone and naturalist Luther Burbank bogged down in deep mud on a back road in West Virginia. Ford’s chauffeur went for help and returned with a farmer driving an ancient Model T. After the Lincoln was yanked from the mire, Ford was the first to shake the farmer’s hand.

“I guess you don’t know me but I’m Henry Ford. I made the car you’re driving.”

A 1921 camping trip. From left, seated: Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, President Warren G. Harding, Harvey S. Firestone and George Christian. The man standing is unidentified.

Firestone chimed in, “I’m the man who made those tires.” Then he introduced two of the campers: “Meet the man who invented the electric light — and the President of the United States.”

Luther Burbank was the last to shake hands. “I guess you don’t know me either?” he asked.

“No,” said the farmer, “but if you’re the same kind of liar as these other darn fools, I wouldn’t be surprised if you said you was Santa Claus!”

I was really drawn to Edison’s little office—probably because I love dark, wood spaces and places where you can sit and comfortably talk. The brochure I picked up at the Edison and Ford Estates said this cottage was built in 1929. Don’t you just love the phonograph in the back corner? Edison invented a tin-foil phonograph in 1877. The word phonograph was his trademark name. The sound quality, however, was pretty bad and a single recording lasted only for one play! Alexander Graham Bell later developed the graphophone, which used wax cylinders and could be played repeatedly.

The story of the “little office” (his term, not mine) is tangled. It was built to replace Edison’s original laboratory, which was dismantled and moved to Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan in 1928. After the lab was  removed, Ford funded the construction of this office building and also the garden in the back, which was know as the Moonlight Garden. It became a favorite place of the Edisons as they grew older.

Water lilies, papyrus, and iris were three of Mina’s favorite plants. Ellen Biddle Shipman, who was one of the first female landscape architects, designed the garden. She filled it with blue and white flowers and a a small pool to reflect the moonlight.

Ricky, who is a student at TFC and also one of our security guards, dropped by this morning asking about my trip last week. Since he is from Quito, Ecuador, he was especially interested in hearing about where I ate while I was in Sarasota for a day. I told him that I had pictures of one particular meal. And he asked, “Can I see them?” “Sure,” no problem” I replied. (Notice I have mastered the standard reply spoken by most college-age students).

I had a wonderful dinner at The Columbia Restaurant located along St. Armand’s Circle. It is a tradition now. Every time I head to southwest Florida, I have to stop at The Columbia, and I’m never disappointed. This time I was in casual clothes and just didn’t care. My only interest was in the food and boy, was it good.

For the next 15 minutes we talked about food from South America and Cuba. I know little about either, but do know what I truly love to eat and some of it is pictured above: fresh grilled Mahi Mahi, yellow rice, yuca, platanos and mojo. This came after an absolutely legendary house salad The Columbia is known for. It is prepared at your table and served with house dressing—a 100 year old family recipe—that is just plain delicious. All I know is that after Ricky and I finished talking and looking at these photos, we both were suddenly hungry.

And then there was desert . . . also prepared at my table. I was absolutely good for nothing the rest of the evening even though all of Saint Armand’s Circle surrounded me.

What would a trip to the beach be like without photographs taken at sunset? Everyone does this. They take the cameras to the beach— big or small—elaborate or a simple point and shoot. Trust me the beaches in the evening at Sanibel and Captiva are always busy.

The end of the day become some sort of celebration where everyone smiles and talks. The water is so warm that it is literally  healing to the mind and soul. And walking along the shoreline with sandpipers dashing along in front of you becomes one of the most relaxing things you can do.

And there is always a mindless hobby waiting for you: picking up sea shells. Once you are there, you quickly abandon the desire to collect only the prettiest and the largest shells. In fact, once your toes hit the sand even the most common of shells become pretty special.

Several years ago, I visited the Winter Estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford and came away being touched not by the power and fame these two men represented in America but by something much simpler—the friendship they shared. Edison and his family spent much more time at his Ft. Myers home than the Fords did, but whenever the two were together, you get a sense that they were friends in the most sincere sense.

When Edison learned that the home next to his two houses was on the market, he immediately asked Henry Ford if he wanted to purchase it. Ford had visited Edison in Ft. Myers many times so the natural thing for him to do was to live next next door to his friend. There are countless photos that have been taken of the two men and their families together at their winter estates. On occasion, they were joined by Harvey Firestone. The three men were on a hunt for a product that would make better tires, latex gloves, and much more. We can only imagine the conversations they had together.

One particular point of interest for me was the gate that stood between Thomas Edison’s Seminole Lodge and Henry Ford’s home, which was named: The Mangoes. It was called, The Friendship Gate. You can see where the original one was located in the photo above. When Ford was in Ft. Myers, the gate was always open. When he left, it was closed and not opened again until he returned. It was symbolic of their relationship and the “welcome” they had for one another. I don’t know why this very small jester has always stuck with me, but it has. It seems that friends come and go too easily these days. I once had a college professor ask a group of us if we could name five friends that we had known for ten years. No one could do this. These men, as powerful and as famous as they were, remained friends up until Edison’s death in 1931.

Some of the last words Edison spoke were of Henry Ford. He said, “I can only say that in the fullest meaning of the term, he is my friend.”